Getting Police Back On The Beat

March 06, 1992

A plan to get Hartford's police patrols more deeply involved in neighborhoods they serve is a good idea.

The city's police force has talked for years about strengthening the connections between neighborhood residents and the police patrols assigned to help and protect them. Such efforts have produced spotty results and the new proposal, if effectively executed and managed, could contribute to safer and more neighborly living.

The proposal includes setting up three substations -- in the city's northern half, southern half and downtown. It also would increase the number of foot patrols downtown and require officers to leave their cruisers to walk 40-minute beats in areas without foot patrols. The plan further encourages government and business to join efforts to establish block watches.

As an incentive to residents, the proposal would offer guarantees of police activity in neighborhoods where citizens help police plan arrests for street drug sales or other crimes. To achieve such cooperation, the police would have to convince residents that they really would like to hear from them and, perhaps most important, would act on the information they gathered.

Getting police officers out of their cruisers is an excellent but overdue idea. The view of a street changes dramatically when seen one step at a time. A 40-minute walk also lets neighbors buttonhole their patrol officer to share news of the day and maybe a tip or two. Just the psychological lift of seeing an officer on the street enhances residents' sense of well-being.

The plan is part of the police department's budget request for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and could be implemented with little extra expense. The proposal deserves strong community support